REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 49 



50,660 were sockeyes. Most of the catch was sold to a fishing com- 

 pany at Kodiak. Tlie natives seem satisfied with the Bureau s plan 

 for apportioning the fishing grounds among the fishermen, so that 

 overfisliing is prevented and all enjoy an equal opportunity. 



ALASKA FISHERY LEGISLATION. 



For about eight years legislation affecting the fisheries of Alaska 

 has been pending in Congress. Protracted hearings have been 

 held, and a large amount of testimony and data has been presented 

 to the appropriate committees of the two houses. The necessity for 

 a radical revision of the existing salmon law has been especially 

 pointed out by various agencies and persons interested in the welfare 

 of the fisheries of Alaska, and congressional committees have made 

 favorable reports on bills embodying new legislation. 



No new fishery laws have, however, ])een enacted; and the fisheries 

 of Alaska, at the most critical period of tlieir history, remain sul)ject 

 to laws which have been shown to be obsolete and inadequate. The 

 Bureau of Fisheries is thus placed at a great disadvantage in admin- 

 istering the salmon fisheri(^s of Alaska and can not justly be held 

 accountable for conditions, practices, and developments wliich, 

 wliile having the full sanction of law, are not necessarily compatible 

 with the perpetuation of the supply and in some respects are directly 

 opposed thereto. 



The law of June 14, 1906, prohibiting aliens from eno;as;ing in the 

 fisheries of Alaska, should be amendcci so as to give full force to its 

 beneficent purpose. The high prices recently commanded by 

 salmon have attracted an unusually large number of persons to the 

 fisheries of Alaska, including many aliens. Instances have come to 

 light where persons who renounced their declaration of intention 

 to become citizens in order to escape th(^ seh'ctivo draft, and have 

 not since changed their civic status, are claiming or exercisinp^ the 

 privileore of operating independently in the fislieries of Alaska, a 

 right that should be n'stricted to bona fide citiz(>ns. 



It is the consensus of opinion among persons well informed regard- 

 ing the liahbut fisher}' conducted oft" tlie Alaskan coast that there are 

 wasteful features of the fishery wliich are imperihng the haHbut 

 supply. The situation is difficult to handle, but at least one measure 

 of protection is feasible and meets with general approbation, namely, 

 a close season during several winter months wnen the fishery is 

 most hazarflous, least productive, and most wasteful. This matter 

 was fully considen^d by the American-Canadian Fishery Conference 

 which held hearings on the Pacific coast in 1918 and recommended 

 remedial legislation wliich, to be effective, should be uniform in the 

 United States and Canada. This matter should receive the early 

 attention of Congress. 



ALASKA FUR-SEAL SERVICE. 



OUTLINE OF ACTIVITIES. 



In the general administration of the Pribilof Islands, the duties 

 devolving on the Bureau ai(? extremely varied. They comprise (1) 

 the purchase, transportation, and distribution of supplies for the 



